Chapter 104 (Chapter 104) Big Misfortune is Coming
Just as Pei Zhiwei was about to get up from behind the roof and follow, her arm was suddenly gently pulled by Lu Yinzhou.
She was startled and turned around to see Lu Yinzhou with his brows furrowed, still looking around, but his eyes were surprisingly bright.
He didn't say anything, but made a "retreat" gesture at her. Before his hand had even fully landed, he had already leaped two zhang away.
Although Pei Zhiwei was full of doubts, she did not hesitate for a moment and followed after him.
As soon as they stepped into Yaoguang Garden, Pei Zhiwei couldn't help but ask, "Grandpa Lu, why do we have to leave?"
"That man just now, I think he's the one who picked up the missing girl in Suzhou. If we follow him a little longer, we might find a clue!"
Lu Yinzhou didn't answer directly. Instead, he turned to look at her with a slight smile on his lips: "You don't understand why I wanted to leave. You just followed me after I gave the signal?"
Aren't you in a hurry about your case?
Pei Zhiwei: "I'm anxious, how can I not be anxious!"
For those girls, every moment of delay was torture, and I couldn't wait to find them right now.
But I asked you for help because I trust your experience and intuition as the pioneer of thieves.
"You asked me to withdraw, and there must be a reason why I have to; I can't just let the clues slip by."
"Hahahaha...!" Lu Yinzhou suddenly burst into laughter, startling the birds in the locust tree in the corner of the courtyard, which scattered in all directions, their feathers falling to the ground.
Just as Pei Zhiwei was about to say something more, she saw Xiao Yunzhan and Xie Ji come out of their respective bedrooms.
The former was neatly dressed, while the latter, though in casual clothes, had slightly disheveled hair, clearly having fallen asleep while waiting for them and now being woken up by their laughter.
"Grandpa, could you please tone down your laughter this late at night?" Xie Ji rubbed his eyes and pointed to the bird feathers on the ground.
"Look, the birds are so scared they've lost feathers all over the yard. Tomorrow morning, Manager Lin will be figuring out how to nourish them."
Lu Yinzhou snorted and his gaze fell on Xie Ji.
"You little rascal, those two have become quite adept at picking the locks I left in your room these past few days, but you just can't shake your impulsive nature and still haven't figured it out."
Xie Ji immediately pouted, looking aggrieved.
"My hands are used for both sword and gun practice; the most delicate thing I can do is write. Your locks have all sorts of mechanisms and hidden latches, I..."
He was halfway through his sentence when he met Lu Yinzhou's warning look, and quickly changed the subject, "Don't worry!"
I'm sure I'll practice until I succeed!
Please don't skip teaching them anything else. Even if I don't sleep for the next few days, I'll definitely figure out how to take apart the lock!
"That's more like it."
Lu Yinzhou got a satisfactory answer, but Pei Zhiwei was in a lot of trouble.
"Grandpa Lu, please ignore him. Tell me about the problem you just asked. I'm so worried."
Seeing her anxious expression, Lu Yinzhou not only didn't answer her question, but suddenly asked in return, "If I said that my intuition tells me that if we stay any longer, we'll alert the enemy, would you believe me?"
"I believe you!" Pei Zhiwei nodded emphatically without the slightest hesitation.
"You've been in the martial arts world for so many years and have never made a mistake or been discovered by anyone, which shows that your intuition has always been accurate."
Besides, the most important thing in the thieves' world is to keep things hidden. Since you feel there's a risk, you must have noticed some details that I haven't.
Lu Yinzhou raised an eyebrow, a hint of inquiry in his eyes: "Oh? Don't you think 'intuition' is something ethereal and unreliable?"
What if I'm wrong? Wouldn't that delay your case?
"Definitely not!" Pei Zhiwei calmed down after receiving the answer.
After all, the safety of those girls should be the top priority.
Fearing that Lu Yinzhou might think she was flattering him, she explained, "Actually, so-called intuition is something that is honed through a lot of experience."
There are only three types of people in the world who are best suited for nighttime raids.
One type is the killer, who relies on their instinctive reaction to danger.
One type is the scout, who trains their ability to observe the environment.
The last type is the thief's gate, which requires knowledge of mechanisms, the ability to identify traces, and the skill of concealment.
We don't have any assassins in our household, but we do have Wu Xing as a scout. However, I didn't contact him; instead, I've come to trouble you.
"It's precisely because you have the most experience that you understand better than anyone how to avoid risks in the shadows."
"Hahahaha!" Lu Yinzhou burst into another deafening laugh.
"If your mother had been half as steady as you back then, she would have suffered so much less!"
After he finished laughing, his face suddenly darkened, and he said seriously, "Have someone find me the blueprints for the Silla Pavilion."
If nothing unexpected happens, little girl, the girls you're looking for should be inside the Silla Mansion.
Pei Zhiwei's eyes lit up immediately. "Grandpa Lu, we've only been inside the Xinluo Pavilion for a short while, and you've already noticed something's wrong?"
Or is it that you can understand what they're saying and glean meaning from their words?
Lu Yinzhou nodded and sneered, "I underestimated this Silla Pavilion. I never expected that these little Silla people would dare to look down on my Great Liang like this."
He turned to look at Xiao Yunzhan, then glanced at Pei Lin, who had just come out of the bedroom wearing an overcoat.
"The things you've all come to Yangzhou to investigate, I reckon Xinluofang will be a great starting point."
Xie Ji leaned over and said in surprise, "Oh my? Grandpa, you know their real purpose?"
Lu Yinzhou smirked, "Kid, as the saying goes, officials have their way, and bandits have their way."
If my nose weren't so sensitive, I would have been knocked out countless times already.
"Oh dear, please ignore him." Pei Zhiwei stamped her feet anxiously.
"What exactly did you hear them say?"
I didn't understand a single word just now, please tell me!
"They spoke too fast, and I only caught the gist of it," Lu Yinzhou said, slowing his pace as he recalled the conversation.
“Someone said that since there hadn’t been any shipments for a long time, the nobles in Silla were getting impatient. If it dragged on any longer, their families in Silla would be punished.”
Another person said that they had received a message from Yangdu City demanding that they suspend all operations and increase patrols; otherwise, even the governor wouldn't be able to protect them.
“Prefect? Zhang Xuren?” Pei Zhiwei frowned.
"He has direct contact with these Silla people?"
Lu Yinzhou: "Judging from what they said, that should be the case."
As he spoke, he took out the booklets and several letters he had found in a hidden compartment of the Silla Chamber of Commerce's storeroom. "Does anyone here understand Silla script?"
“I can understand it. I studied it hard for a while back when I was investigating the case of the Silla merchants.” Pei Lin stepped forward, took the booklet, and opened it, his fingertips lightly tracing the words on the page.
"That's perfect, take a look, I'll put it back later after I'm done looking at it."
As Lu Yinzhou spoke, he held the letters up to the light and examined them carefully, looking them over and over again.
Pei Zhiwei: "Grandpa Lu, I'll go with you so we can look after each other."
"No need, I'm just leaving something here, I'll be right back, it's not that complicated."
Lu Yinzhou withdrew his hand and said to Yan Jinghong, who had just walked over, "Yan girl, go and get a fire pit."
Xie Ji, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but interject, "Why not just heat it with a candle flame?"
I used to warm the mail with a candle flame before I secretly opened it.
"What do you know?" Lu Yinzhou rolled his eyes at him.
“Candlelight can easily leave marks, and although they are not obvious, a careful person can spot them at a glance.”
A fire pit is different; as long as the temperature is controlled properly, it won't leave any traces, making it ideal for secret messages that need to be restored.
As they were talking, Yan Jinghong had already come over with the fire bucket.
Lu Yinzhou took it, tested the temperature with his palm, and after confirming the temperature, slowly heated the seal of the envelope.
After a while, he took out a blade as thin as a cicada's wing, carefully pried open the seal, and pulled out the letter.
Pei Lin took it, quickly glanced at it, and suddenly paused, looking up at Xiao Yunzhan and asking, "Can Your Highness understand Silla script?"
Xiao Yunzhan shook his head: "I only recognize a few simple symbols, and I can't understand complete sentences."
"Then treat it like a painting, and copy it down quickly." Pei Lin handed over the letter, his tone full of seriousness.
"These contents are very important, and they must be presented to His Majesty at that time."
“That’s easy.” Xiao Yunzhan took the letter, picked up a pen and paper from the table beside him, and quickly moved the pen tip across the paper.
Although he did not understand Silla script, his skill in copying was excellent. In no time, he had copied the letter perfectly, down to the thickness of the strokes.
Pei Lin had almost finished reading the booklet and the remaining letters, and his brows furrowed more and more tightly.
After Xiao Yunzhan finished copying, he handed the booklet and letter back to Lu Yinzhou.
Lu Yinzhou slowly restored the letters to their original state, carefully checking them over and over again to ensure there were no flaws. Then he said to everyone, "I'll be right back."
No sooner had he finished speaking than his figure leaped over the courtyard wall, leaving only a faint black shadow that vanished into the night in the blink of an eye.
Pei Zhiwei: "Father, what did that booklet and letter say? Is it related to the Grand Canal?"
"The letter mainly consisted of correspondence between Zhang Xuren and Silla nobles, which mentioned many instances of the Zhang family of Jiangnan colluding with Silla people to profit from the Grand Canal."
Zhang Xuren helped them smooth things over in the canal transport, and in return, they handed over the 'goods'...
He paused for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "Those so-called 'goods' should not only be those girls, there should be others as well."
They were all transported to Silla via the Grand Canal.
The Silla nobles, on the other hand, showered the Zhang family with numerous benefits.
“The Zhang family of Jiangnan…” Pei Zhiwei murmured to herself.
Before she could sort out her thoughts, Xiao Yunzhan scoffed and mocked, "From the moment we were stopped at the official post station..."
No, it should be said that ever since the assassination of Zhang Yanzhi in the capital, the Zhang family has always been the one to stick their neck out.
First, Zhang Qifeng in the capital obstructed the investigation at every turn. Then, Zhang Chengye was involved in every single case in Suzhou. Finally, Zhang Xuren in Yangzhou secretly colluded with Silla.
"I had been wondering before, how could the Zhang family, whose status in Jiangnan has only been prominent for a few years, be so audacious? It turns out they've colluded with foreign powers and are acting with impunity!"
Pei Zhiwei's eyes darted around, and she rested her cheek on her hand, suddenly revealing a bright smile as she looked at Xiao Yunzhan.
"Your Highness, do you mean that those who are allied with the Zhang family know that the Zhang family has colluded with Silla and plans to use Silla's power to get rid of them and monopolize the entire canal transport pie?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunzhan slowly curled a gentle smile at the corners of his mouth, but a hint of calculation was hidden in his eyes.
When Xie Ji saw that smile, his lips twitched uncontrollably, and goosebumps rose all over his body.
He knew that smile all too well. Back in the capital, whenever Xiao Yunzhan looked at him with that smile, he would always be in big trouble.
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